I bought a brand new iMac on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure this will come as a surprise to some, so I figured I might as well offer some background information about this choice - maybe it'll help other people who are also pondering what to buy as their next computer.

It's not just about the OS, it was as much about hardware reliability, warranty, and convenience of repair centers. He was tired of building his own hardware and being his own warranty, so for sane financial reasons he went with what works. I'm sure it might be a bit different if he didn't rely on his computer for his job, but...wait why am I typing all of this? It's all covered very well in Thom's piece. Apparently you didn't read it at all.

And for what it's worth, I applaud him. He made a decision based on his needs and budget versus his wants and biases. For similar reasons, I prefer to buy off-lease HP, Dell and Lenovo business-class machines when it comes time to upgrade. Not only do I save a ton of money over buying new, such machines tend to be built better than their consumer lines and are much, much cheaper to obtain and maintain than anything I could build. I'd have to blow my budget to hell to match the quality. Also, since the hardware is fairly standard in the business class, alternative OS support is virtually guaranteed.

The machine I'm typing this on now is an HP slimline that has been rock-solid for the past year I've had it. I got it for $40 and with a $70 video card upgrade and another $20 to max out the RAM I have a machine that is dependable, quiet and well supported by its manufacturer. Windows 7 works on it very well, along with every alternative OS I've thrown at it. In fact, the only hiccup in that arena has been my aftermarket video card; it's just too new for GNU right now. The onboard video is fully supported in everything but Haiku.

It's not just about the OS, it was as much about hardware reliability, warranty, and convenience of repair centers. He was tired of building his own hardware and being his own warranty, so for sane financial reasons he went with what works. I'm sure it might be a bit different if he didn't rely on his computer for his job, but...wait why am I typing all of this? It's all covered very well in Thom's piece. Apparently you didn't read it at all.

I already said I agree with this. I was commenting on the Windows 8 bit at the end that tbh had no bearing on the hardware at all, and I don't think the OS either since Classic is STILL FUCKING THERE.

And for what it's worth, I applaud him. He made a decision based on his needs and budget versus his wants and biases. For similar reasons, I prefer to buy off-lease HP, Dell and Lenovo business-class machines when it comes time to upgrade. Not only do I save a ton of money over buying new, such machines tend to be built better than their consumer lines and are much, much cheaper to obtain and maintain than anything I could build. I'd have to blow my budget to hell to match the quality. Also, since the hardware is fairly standard in the business class, alternative OS support is virtually guaranteed.

Good for you, I dunno what the point is.

The machine I'm typing this on now is an HP slimline that has been rock-solid for the past year I've had it. I got it for $40 and with a $70 video card upgrade and another $20 to max out the RAM I have a machine that is dependable, quiet and well supported by its manufacturer. Windows 7 works on it very well, along with every alternative OS I've thrown at it. In fact, the only hiccup in that arena has been my aftermarket video card; it's just too new for GNU right now. The onboard video is fully supported in everything but Haiku.

Classic ain't going anyway, it might transform, but it still going to be there for years to come.

Have fun with the Mac upgrade cycle.

EDIT: What happened to your Windows 7 license? ... 2020 is EOL. There will be probably Quantum Computers by then.

There isn't a single mention of his hardware purchase by you, apart from a sarcastic remark about the Mac upgrade cycle. So tell me again where you agreed with anything he said?

Good for you, I dunno what the point is.

Just an example of my own similar approach to buying hardware based on needs rather than bias. For what it's worth, I'll be upgrading at least one machine to Windows 8 some time soon; I don't have as much of a problem with it as some people. I think Metro on the desktop could stand to be tweaked, but I agree with you: Classic is still there and will see a lot of use by me and many others I'm sure.

Again what has this got to do with anything?

Yeah I was probably a bit long-winded on that, just wanted to give a good example of how you can save money and get a reliable machine without necessarily switching OSes. In fact, it was actually more in line with your opinion so I'm not sure why you had a problem with it.